As Serbia Blames West For Lithium Protests, U.S. Says Just 'Part Of Democracy'

As mass protests in Belgrade against the development of a lithium mine rattle Serbia's leadership, officials are looking to blame the West.

Washington, for its part, said the protests are just an example of democracy at work, shrugging off accusations it somehow has a hand in it the events.

"Peaceful protest and the right of citizens to demonstrate and speak freely is an important part of democracy," the State Department said in a response to an RFE/RL request for comment to accusations in Belgrade and Moscow.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic earlier this week accused demonstrators who opposed the multibillion-dollar lithium-mining project of being part of Western-backed "hybrid" warfare against his government, without giving any evidence.

Moscow has accused the West of being behind the protests, while Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin thanked the Russian security agencies for warning his government about alleged "preparations for mass unrest and an attempted coup."

Serbia and Russia maintain close ties even as Belgrade seeks to join the European Union. The United States last year designated Vulin for sanctions for his ties to the Kremlin.

In a response to RFE/RL on August 17, the State Department said any assertion that the United States supports anti-government protests in Serbia "is false."

"We are not surprised that Russia, in contrast, has instrumentalized protests to pursue its own agenda in Serbia, as it does around the globe," the State Department told RFE/RL on August 17.

The protesters demand a halt to Anglo-Australian metals and mining giant Rio Tinto's $2.4 billion lithium project in Jadar in western Serbia over fears it could pollute nearby land and water.

In 2022, the Serbian government rejected the project in the wake of massive public protests amid concerns over its impact on the environment.

But it reinstated the plan on July 16 this year, days after the Balkan state's Constitutional Court said the government had acted unconstitutionally when it withdrew permits for Rio Tinto.

Jadar has the capacity to supply 90 percent of Europe's current lithium needs and make Rio Tinto one of the world's leading lithium producers. Serbia is seeking to process the lithium locally and use it for the production of batteries for electric vehicles (EVs).

Such large-scale mining projects often trigger protests in Western countries by local residents who fear the ecological devastation outweighs any potential economic gains. In the United States, citizens have sought to stop lithium projects in Nevada and North Carolina.

Serbia is no different. Citizens fear the Jadar mine will pollute water and land resources in a country that already suffers from significant environmental degradation, a legacy of communist rule.

Lithium is typically mined through a process called brine mining, which involves extracting lithium from underground saltwater reserves, opening up the possibility of water contamination.

The Serbian lithium project could play a critical role in Western EV supply chains as Washington and Brussels seek to reduce dependency on rival China.

The United States and Europe have put policies in place to significantly increase the number of EVs on the road in the coming years as they seek to reach emission targets.

As a result, global lithium demand is expected to surge. China is currently the third-largest producer of lithium after Australia and Chile but the largest lithium refiner and producer of batteries for EVs, giving it signficant influence over markets.

The project would also be a boon to Western investors in Rio Tinto.